For days, the left has been wringing its hands on social media over the fate of 'Cecil', the iconic African lion who was shot dead by a brave, freedom-loving American hunter armed only with a high-powered crossbow. Now, however, the ugly truth about this distasteful animal is slowly beginning to emerge.

Kenneth Weene's insight:

The way I heard it, Cecil was lured with the offer of free dental work. You have no idea how difficult it is to get a good feline dentist in Zimbabwe. even if you are the boss of a cattel.

Here's your chance to have a gay old time at quite the unexpected location -- the Vatican.

A new tour from the LGBT-friendly travel company Quikky offers visitors a look at the homoerotic history i

Kenneth Weene's insight:

That the artists were gay doesn't surprise. That some of the priests (and even popes) have been gay doesn't surprise. That the art has erotic tones doesn't surprise. What surprises is that people now talk about the realities.

A new study says black students are more likely to get criminalized discipline, while white students receive medical intervention.

Kenneth Weene's insight:

This study is consistent with others, for example while teacher reaction to misbehaviors of Blacks and Whites are the same when they are told it is a first offense, their reaction is much more punitive when they are told the misbehavior is a second offense. Also, the language used by school therapists tends to differ; at least that was my personal experience as a clinician reviewing their reports. A White kid might be described as active, while a Black demonstrating the same qualities might be called disruptive.

Outside advocates and political figures would do better to stray from their well-traveled hard line and follow the relatively pragmatic lead of the Palestinian people instead.

Kenneth Weene's insight:

Obviously, any movement towards a popular acceptance on both sides of a two state solution and of a solution to the issue of "The Right to Return" is a good sign. The world needs peace between Israel and the Palestinians. Certainly, the Palestinian people need peace for their own lives and the future of their children. The Israelis, too, need peace so they can continue their march into the future. Of course, it will take even more support for real change, but this is a good bit of news.

These fine teachers are one reason I support the Dream Act. There are many outstanding young men and women who were brought to this country as children, who are now here as adults and deserve a clear path to a visa and to citizenship. They are the stuff that has made America great and we should be supporting them not deporting them.

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif has called for a united front among Middle Eastern states to fight against "the threat of extremism, terrorism, and sectarianism."

Kenneth Weene's insight:

Iran says it wants mutual security and an end to covert support of terrorism. Does that include supporting the government of Bahrain, which faces an internal Shia opposition group. Since Shia is the dominant form of Islam in Bahrain, this will be a real test of Iranian peaceful intent in the absence of sectarian self-defense. Is Tehran the bully and terrorist country conservatives talk about or is she ready to be a real member of the international community. The state departments of the world should be watching this teapot to see if there is a tempest lurking within.

NEW YORK (AP) - Two months ahead of his first trip to the U.S., Pope Francis' approval rating among Americans has plummeted, driven mostly by a decline among political conservatives and Roman Catholics, according to a new Gallup poll released Wednesday.

Kenneth Weene's insight:

As the heroine of my novel Widow's Walk would say, "Christ hae mercy." I am convinced that were Jesus to return there would be a large number of American Christians who would want to crucify him. This pope has his flaws, but he is certainly trying to be a shepherd to all. At least he doesn't have to stand for re-election.

HUD officials said the fraud went undetected because no one was at the office to monitor purchase cards during the shutdown.

Kenneth Weene's insight:

It seems the asylum is everywhere, or at least its madness. Maybe we should give credit cards to all the inmates. Meanwhile, what gets me is that when the realities come to light the bureaucrats can bicker about who reported them and how quickly instead of getting on with cleaning up the mess effectively, which would mean creating a different kind of government credit card, one which only allowed certain specific kinds of purchases. hat would mean an automatic flag on a purchase from any but permitted types of vendors. Of course, maybe giving people credit cards is inherently folly.

Of course, forest fires don't just have the cost of fighting them but also the cost of the damage to resources and the pollution caused by smoke. Prevention should have its own budget and there should be emphasis not only on forest land management but also on building the best fire-fighting infrastructure possible, including new tanker plane.

Libraries have a very special atmosphere. These beautiful libraries even more so.

Kenneth Weene's insight:

Of course, no matter how beautiful a library might be, if it doesn't include my books it isn't doing the job. Please tell your local library to order copies of my work, which they can find at http://www.kennethweene.com

To raise money for officers who have been indicted in the death of Freddie Gray

Kenneth Weene's insight:

And so the shame of American racism moves on to greater depths and denials. Pathetic. Were I mayor of Baltimore, I would ask the Chief of Police to do a performance evaluation of every cop who attends this farce. Like checking out who goes to the funeral of somebody who has been murdered. Yep, the criminal often shows up.

A new study by researchers at University of Maryland School of Medicine has identified promising compounds that could successfully treat depression in less than 24 hours while minimizing side effects. Although they have not yet been tested in people, the compounds could offer significant advantages over current antidepressant medications.

Kenneth Weene's insight:

I hope they can control the addiction issues that GABA antagonists are prone to produce. These include alcohol and Valium to give you an idea.

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